Lobster Ravioli Grilled Cheese

What up, guys? So excited to be back for normal postings! Wanted to give you a little something awesome and I know you are all in the mood for a grilled cheese. A rich, decadent, out-of-this-freaking-world grilled cheese.

I shall confess, I’m not a HUGE lobster person. This may just be lack of exposure, I’m not sure, but I think I’ve only ever ordered it at a restaurant once. But lobster IN things. Yes. Yes. Yes. That is why, when I saw this lobster ravioli in the fresh pasta section at Trader Joes, I bought and vowed to make a grilled cheese with it. I had to come up with a cheese rich enough to stand up to the lobster and pull it all together. I was lucky enough that it worked on my first go at it. It’s pretty damn delicious, I hope you enjoy the splurge.

Alright, first thing is first. Put your water on to boil to cook your lobster ravioli according to the package directions.

Next, start in on the saffron brie sauce. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan (medium heat). Add in the garlic and stir until fragrant. (About 30 seconds.) Whisk in the flour and turn your burner down to LOW. It will be a nice, thick roux. Slowly whisk in the half and half and then add the pinch of saffron. The sauce will begin to thicken. A lot. (You need it to be thick to stay on the bread.) Add in the cheese in several pieces. Keep stirring until it’s all melted and incorporated. Let it sit on the burner, on low, for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, so the saffron flavors become incorporated. Try it. Salt and pepper it to taste.

At some point, cook up your ravioli.

Combine ravioli and brie sauce. Try one. Cause its too good not to.

Next, butter your french bread on one side.* Place a slice of fontina on each of the unbuttered sides. Then, spoon as much ravioli and brie sauce as you think will stay into your sandwich. Close it up.

Preheat a skillet on medium heat. (I prefer iron.) Place your sandwich in the skillet, and ever so gently (as to not let the toppings slip and slide out) press it.** After it is golden brown and crispy, flip and repeat. You may not need to press it the second time if you think it is flat enough.

Remove from pan and allow to set for a few minutes. I used some frilly toothpicks in mine before slicing, because noodles are slippery little buggers.

Enjoy!

*French bread is great because it crisps up SO well. But if you’re using a long baguette-shaped loaf, it’s best to cut it in half, but then use the cut side to butter and put down on your skillet. If the bread is TOO rounded, inverting it will cause your toppings to slip off. Feel free to take a knife and level it out some so your surface area is nice and flattened.

**If you don’t have a grill press or bacon press, you can use a heavy canned good, or really anything heavy with a flat side, and cover it in aluminum foil.

Fontina has an Ohio heart and Philly spunk. She loves giving you recipes for hearty food, pop-culture puns and a hell of a lot of craft beer. You can find her in the kitchen, at the bar, on Twitter or marathoning episodes of Shin Chan or Bob's Burgers online.